


...goodbye

by BriMac0518



Series: The Arcana - 50 Kisses [3]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bittersweet, Bring tissues, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Gender-Neutral Apprentice (The Arcana), I am so sorry, M/M, Other, Reader-Insert, Red Plague (The Arcana), Sad, Sickness, don't hate me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 06:11:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21266348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriMac0518/pseuds/BriMac0518
Summary: Asra tried to leave the plague ridden city and take you with him, but in the end, he just couldn't stay away.





	...goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> AU where Asra tried to leave the city when the Red Plague epidemic occurred but just couldn't stay away from his apprentice. Basically ignores everything in Asra's route set in present day Vesuvia except for him wanting to leave the city to escape the epidemic. 
> 
> PLEASE NOTE: Do not repost my work anywhere. I do not give my permission.

He'd tried to walk away. Tried to get as far away from Vesuvia as he could. And he'd tried to take you with him, but you'd refused adamantly, insisting that you needed to stay. That you wanted to help find a way to stop the plague that was ravaging the city. He'd actually managed to leave, but was only gone a few hours before he couldn't fight the urge to return to your side any longer.

Asra's greatest weakness was you, but he considered it his greatest strength. Loving you made him a better person. Made him happier than he could ever remember being in his life since his parents vanished. He couldn't leave you alone in a dying city. He couldn't risk not being there if the worst should happen and you contracted the plague.

His heart soared when you saw him after he'd returned and ran to him, throwing your arms around him and nearly knocking you both down to the ground. He'd held you tightly, his eyes closed.

"I'm sorry," he said as soon as you were in his arms. "I'm so sorry. I never should have left."   
  
"You don't have to apologize, Asra. I understand why you wanted to. I'm sorry that I couldn't go with you," you replied and Asra felt a pang of regret for having made you feel bad in the first place.

"It's all right. What matters now is we're here. We're together. And we'll do whatever we can to stay that way." Asra leaned back enough to give you an encouraging smile, his thumb brushing over your cheek.

True to his word, Asra stayed with you, doing what he could to help you and Julian Devorak find a cure for the Red Plague. There were countless sleepless nights and days where it felt like there was no hope at all because there was no cure in sight despite all the work and effort put into finding one. The death toll was rising, the smoke from the Lazeret a permanent fixture in the sky. A monument commemorating failure.

Every day you worked long hours and finally fell into bed together when the exhaustion was just too great to ignore, finding solace in each other's arms even if you didn't in sleep. Nightmares were common. But then the nightmare became the reality.

Asra rose from the bed you shared one morning just as the sun was rising in the sky, careful so as not to wake you while he went to make tea. You both were due back to tend to your duties with Julian and he wanted to make sure you had a good breakfast first. He finished cooking a quick meal and set down your favorite mug filled with tea beside your plate before going back over to the bed so he could wake you.

"Good morning, love," he said gently, sitting down on the edge of the bed and reaching over to brush your hair back from your face. But his hand paused when he touched your skin and felt the warmth radiating off of it. Far warmer than it should have been. He checked again with his other hand, just in case, but the result was the same. It felt like a ball of ice had settled in his chest as his hands moved to your shoulders, shaking you gently.

"Baby... Wake up for me. Come on," Asra urged you, trying to keep that fear he felt out of his voice. Yet he couldn't stop it from surging when you finally opened your eyes.

There in the sclera of your eyes was the faintest hint of red.

He desperately wanted it to just be from you being too tired and not getting enough sleep. That your eyes were just bloodshot. Yet the fever told him that that clearly was not the case. That his worst fear had come to pass.

You groaned quietly when you looked at him from the way your body ached with the fever and from how dry your throat was. You couldn't miss the stricken look on his face when he looked at you, the truth written there plain as day.

You had contracted the plague.

What came next was Asra rushing you to Julian, Faust wrapped around his neck as she hung on for the ride. She was worried, but wanted to comfort him as best she could. You were in and out of consciousness the entire time while Asra fought to keep his emotions under control.

He helped Julian as much as he could while trying to tend to you and make you as comfortable as possible, but it wasn't long before the sclera of your eyes were a bright crimson as the plague ran its course in your body. It was just a matter of time. Asra knew it, but he didn't stop. There were quite a few times where he and Julian ended up in shouting matches because Julian was struggling to make a breakthrough and Asra was terrified, lashing out at the only target he could find that wasn't you. Sometimes you were awake for it, but sometimes you weren't, and even when you were awake, you were barely coherent.

Asra's heart ached every time you called his name, begging him to stop the pain, to make it go away. He held you whenever you did, tears in his eyes as he cradled you against his chest and tried his best to soothe you, but to no avail. He never even noticed that he was feeling unwell.

Two days after your symptoms surfaced, it was Julian who first saw the same symptoms in Asra. The magician rose from where he'd fallen asleep near the cot you were laying on, intending to once again help Julian, but the plague doctor froze, staring at Asra with wide eyes.

"What, Ilya?" Asra asked him, sounding as worn out as he felt and trying to ignore the headache that was raging in him.

"Oh God," Julian managed to say, looking heartbroken as he stared at the magician. He swallowed thickly. "Asra... Asra, your eyes..." His voice wavered and his tone said it all. He'd failed you. He'd failed Asra. He'd never forgive himself for it. That was just how Julian was.

When Asra looked in the mirror, he already knew what he'd find. Red eyes. Just like yours. Instead of being afraid, of grieving or lamenting, Asra breathed a quiet sigh, his gaze drawn to where you were laying. Then he turned back to Julian and gave the doctor a tired smile.   
  
"Ilya. It's all right," he said. He made his way back to your bedside and moved to lie down next to you. He wrapped his arms around you, your skin hot to the touch. The fever was only growing worse despite their best efforts to stop it. Asra knew he'd soon be in the same boat. There was no fear. Just quiet resignation. At least he wouldn't have to live without you. At least he'd be there with you so you weren't alone. He found he was actually grateful for that.

Things progressed from there. Asra found it harder and harder to get out of bed. Then it was a battle just to stay conscious. Always though, he kept himself near you, soft purple eyes watching your face. Everything else faded away for him. All he saw was you. He didn't even feel Faust curled over his shoulder.

The other doctors fought with Julian, demanding that you and Asra be taken to the Lazeret. That the two of you were too far gone and ran the risk of infecting more people if you hadn't already. Julian was determined to try to save the two of you, but even he knew when he was fighting a losing battle. He just couldn't bring himself to stop trying. In the end, the other doctors won, some having to restrain Julian while you and Asra were taken out.

It was night when you were loaded onto a boat, surrounded by men in beaked masks, their faces hidden from view. Asra only asked that they keep the two of you together. He held onto you as tightly as his weakened body could manage for the duration of the trip across the water to the dark island that would be your final resting place. You'd barely been awake at all for a while and when you were, you were delirious with fever.

Yet when you both made it to the island and were put down on a cot not far from the crematorium, your eyes opened and focused on Asra, showing a rare moment of clarity as you looked into his purple eyes, seeing the red that surrounded the irises. Your chapped lips curved into a soft little smile that was answered by one from Asra in return.

"I love you," you whispered, your voice faint from weakness and from how dry your throat and mouth were. He heard you just fine though.

"I love you too," he whispered back. "Always." He could barely move, but he made sure to keep his arms around you as your eyes slipped closed. Your last sight was him. The soft smile on his face. The adoration in his eyes. Then your heart slowly stopped beating and you slipped away. There was no more pain.

Asra refused to let go of you. He shifted his head as much as he could, pressing a soft kiss to your lips. One last goodbye. "Wait for me," he whispered, his head resting against yours, his eyes drifting closed. It only took a couple of hours, but Asra's breathing finally ceased. He died with you in his arms and Faust nuzzling his face, the length of her draped over you both.

The last sight anyone had of Asra the magician and his apprentice was the two of you going into the fire together in the crematorium. After that, it became very common for the ones tending to the dead to see a little purple snake curled up over a fresh grave, staying near the ones she loved most even after you were gone.

**Author's Note:**

> Want to get updates on my writing? Come say hi on my social media. I’d love to hear from you! :)
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/BriMac0518)   
[tumblr](http://brimac0518.tumblr.com)   
[Instagram](http://instagram.com/brimac0518/)   



End file.
